1,720,974 research outputs found
Hepatitis C virus relies on lipoproteins for its life cycle
Full text linkHepatitis C virus (HCV) infects over 150 million people worldwide. In most cases, HCV infection becomes chronic causing liver disease ranging from fibrosis to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Viral persistence and pathogenesis are due to the ability of HCV to deregulate specific host processes, mainly lipid metabolism and innate immunity. In particular, HCV exploits the lipoprotein machineries for almost all steps of its life cycle. The aim of this review is to summarize current knowledge concerning the interplay between HCV and lipoprotein metabolism. We discuss the role played by members of lipoproteins in HCV entry, replication and virion production
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Role of different matrix stiffness on RLSCS (resident liver stem cells) fate. School of Pure and Applied Biophysicson "Nanomechanics in biomolecular adhesion" Gennaio27-31, 2014, Venezia, Italy
No full textMyeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells in COVID-19: The Paradox of Good
No full textSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Viral replication in the respiratory tract induces the death of infected cells and the release of pathogen- associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). PAMPs give rise to local inflammation, increasing the secretion of pro- inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, which attract immune cells from the blood into the infected lung. In most individuals, lung-recruited cells clear the infection, and the immune response retreats. However, in some cases, a dysfunctional immune response occurs, which triggers a cytokine storm in the lung, leading to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Severe COVID-19 is characterized by an impaired innate and adaptive immune response and by a massive expansion of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). MDSCs function as protective regulators of the immune response, protecting the host from over-immunoreactivity and hyper-inflammation. However, under certain conditions, such as chronic inflammation and cancer, MDSCs could exert a detrimental role. Accordingly, the early expansion of MDSCs in COVID-19 is able to predict the fatal outcome of the infection. Here, we review recent data on MDSCs during COVID-19, discussing how they can influence the course of the disease and whether they could be considered as biomarker and possible targets for new therapeutic approaches
Identification of the molecular events underlying liver stem cell choices at the branch of epithelial/mesenchymal differentiation
No full textBeside the many promises and expectation, as yet current therapeutic applications of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine are restricted to a limited number of epithelial tissues (i.e. skin, cornea and heart valve) [1] where both 3D structure and instructive signals arising from cellular interplay show a low level of complexity. Regarding the liver, the challenge of the use of tissue engineering for the treatment of acute and chronic hepatic failure is still far from won; the organ, in fact, is composed by several histotypes that guarantee liver functions only when they correctly set up cell-cell interactions in the complex anatomical architecture of the hepatic lobule. Moreover, local micro-environmental elements, such as growth factors and both stiffness and composition of the extracellular matrix (ECM), provide important cues to determine cell fate. Particularly, mechanical properties of the ECM play a pivotal role in the regulation of many important cell processes that, eventually, decide cell fate and function.
Here, we present experimental data obtained with the use of a new cellular tool constituted by resident liver stem cells (RLSCs), derived from murine livers and established in lines [2]. These cells display a metastable phenotype, as underlined by i) the co-expression of epithelial and mesenchymal markers and ii) the ability to differentiate toward two mutually exclusive epithelial or mesenchymal derivatives: hepatocytes and hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). These progenitor cells, indeed, when transplanted in healthy growing livers (i.e. in murine newborns 1-2 days old) were found to contribute to the liver tissue with both hepatocytes and HSCs properly integrated in the hepatic architecture. Heterotopic transplantations, while confirm the dual differentiation potentiality of RLSCs, indicate as tissue local cues are necessary to drive a full hepatic differentiation [3].
One of the local elements mainly influencing the liver cell function is the elasticity/stiffness of the ECM. Liver tissue in physiological condition displays a liver stiffness (LS) lower than 6 KPa. LS increases during progression of liver fibrosis, a pathological state shared by several liver diseases and characterized by proliferation of collagen producing cells [4].
Our results showed that mechanical stimuli drive RLSCs differentiation choices within 24 hours: soft matrix (0,4 KPa) selectively induces epithelial differentiation while stiff matrix (80 KPa) induces mesenchymal differentiation.
We are currently characterizing, in this dynamic cellular model, the epigenetic events that anticipate liver-specific gene expression, focusing in particular on the promoter region of HNF4alpha, a transcriptional master regulator of hepatic differentiation. Our data would disclose new insight into the early events driving pivotal cellular choices at the branch of epithelial/mesenchymal differentiation
Sequential Use of Sarilumab and Baricitinib in Severe COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Case Report
No full textBackground: Severe COVID-19 associated pneumonia patients may exhibit features of systemic hyper-inflammation. Both anti-IL-6 and anti-JAK drugs are curently under investigation for the hyperinflammatory syndrome of COVID-19 disease. Here we report a clinical case with a complete panel of cytokine levels and immunological profiling of T cell, plasmacytoid and myeloid dendritic cells.
Case Presentation: An adult patient with severe COVID-19 pneumonia and documented hyper-inflammation has been treated with antivirals and off-label sarilumab intravenously, with poor response. Subsequently, he was treated with off-label oral baricitinib for 14 days, with clinical, radiological and laboratoristic response, measured also with IL1b, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-a levels.
Conclusions: Baricitinib was well tolerated and was able to reduce the inflammatory mediators, confirming its role in diminishing the excessive inflammatory response. This case is the first presented with an extensive characterization and shows a possible use of baricitinib as rescue therapy, after anti-IL6 treatment, for COVID-19
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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